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I am a hoarder of the worst order but having lived at five different addresses in three different cities in the last 7 years I have come to appreciate clearing out the inexplicably useless things I choose to hang on to. I love taking bags of stuff to the nearby charity shops and passing on clothes to friends, it’s all those other things that I feel the need to squirrel away that are the problem. Clothes that aren’t in any fit state to be worn but could add some lovely colour to that rag rug I’ve been meaning to make, I strip the zips, buttons and trims off everything and have miles of bits of ribbon taken off packaging.

In a recent clear out my Grandmother asked us all to let her know if there was anything any of us wanted putting aside. The house in question is the home where my Grandparents’ raised their seven children, which in turn was played in and visited by 13 grandchildren and with the eldest of the 12 current great-grandchildren being in his mid twenties and the youngest being only a few weeks old, serious hoarder goodies, I mean treasured family memories up for grabs.

I’ve been covertly coveting this tablecloth that Gran never had a chance to finish – I mentioned the proliferation of children in our clan right? – for years. It’s a beautiful combination of cutwork and embroidery made up of hundreds of Gran’s tiny, perfectly even stitches. Apologies for the crumpled fabric in the photos, I haven’t quite plucked up the courage to press it yet.

But that’s not all, oh no, this was a real hoarders-hand-me-down. In the bag with the tablecloth was a whole gold mine of embroidery patterns on canvas, transfers, all the wool and silks I needed to finish the projects, a book about needlework and something the like of which I have never seen before.

I really wish I had at least a tension square that I have created to show you, but I just can’t figure it out! Having only one needle does not simplify things, it seems to make knitting far MORE complicated. I will not be beaten by such a ridiculous article though. I hope in the end to be smiling like the guy in his cardigan from the pattern book, at the moment I think I feel more like the lady in her cardigan/ mini skirt combo!